I am happy to announce that since my first tour sold out, I am organizing a second Morocco Culinary & Cultural Tour starting February 20, 2018 for a 12-night tour filled with culinary delights, cooking classes, market tours, tastings, and visits to farms. We’ll learn to make an array of the small Moroccan salads such as the ones shown above, whether eggplant, carrot, artichoke, zucchini or fava beans. We’ll enjoy wonderful flavor-packed food based on seasonal vegetables, local olive oil and rare argan oil, purple, green, black and violet olives, fresh local seafood, and a deft hand with herbs and spices. For this small-group tour (maximum 10 guests), we’ll be staying in riads (traditional inn with inner courtyard based on Andalusian style) and will even have one night in the desert where we’ll stay in a luxury camp and bake bread in hot sand fueled by an open fire.

Tour highlights include: Tasting tour of Fes (the Moroccan spelling of Fez, Spice Workshop with Master Blender, an Exploration of Moroccan-Jewish Cooking, and cooking classes in the Atlas Mountains, a visit to the spectacular Dades Valley where we’ll stay at the justly-famed Chez Pierre, Marrakesh, and Fes.

Beginning in Rabat, the historic, Atlantic Coastal capital of Morocco, we’ll travel next to the Imperial City of Fes. Next we travel south into the Sahara Desert, and then onto the Dades Valley. We continue to Marrakesh, the beautiful ochre city and then on to the charming, windy fishing village of Essaouira before heading to Casablanca for a final night before departing Morocco.

We’ll be drinking pots full of Moroccan mint tea made with nana mint (spearmint), traditionally poured from a great height to cool the boiling hot tea.

Here are some images from the heritage-rich riads and hotels where we will be staying:

Just back from my fabulous, dizzying culinary tour in incredible India! Eleven guests plus myself and my trusty assistant traveled from Delhi (madly busy, loved Old Delhi and its spice markets-shown here–and flower markets) to Jaipur (the pink city with a fabulous outdoor cooking class at the gorgeous Raj Mahal Palace Hotel), Agra (absolutely perfect weather for our early morning visit to the Taj Mahal), Lucknow (a sophisticated city with complex cuisine not often visited by Americans), and back to Delhi.
Whether by bus, tuk-tuk, taxi, auto-rickshaw, train, and even an elephant ride up to the Amber Fort in Jaipur, we made our way, doing food walks in the bustling crazily-crowded narrow streets of the old parts of Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, and Lucknow, tasting a myriad of vegetarian and non-vegetarian foods, learning new recipes, culture and history, and having the opportunity to speak to knowledgeable locals.

We happened upon this procession of women honoring a local fertility god while visiting the 8th Century Stepwell. All were dressed in the same brilliant yellow-orange and carrying earthenware water pots on their heads filled with coconuts and bananas as offerings.

Along with irresistibly beautiful hand-woven silk and pashmina shawls dyed with natural materials such as eggplant, tomato, saffron, and turmeric, I brought back the best saffron in the world, from Kashmir–deep red threads potently fragrant, rare white poppy seeds (known there as “opium seeds”) used to make creamy korma sauce, big fat deep green freshly harvested cardamom pods, and hard-to-find hand-pounded silver leaf used to decorate pastries. Show above are two masala dabas (spice containers) each filled with colorful, fresh spices used for our first cooking class at the charming Saffron Palate in Delhi–a charming rooftop kitchen overlooking bustling Delhi.

Have you been dreaming about a trip to Morocco? I know that I have since I love cooking Moroccan-inspired food from slender lamb cigari; fish, vegetable and meat tajines; and baked fish in chermoula to chicken b’stilla with cinnamon and almonds; m’hancha (the serpent)–pistachio, almond and rosewater filled coiled fillo pastry; and slow-cooked lamb shoulder with homemade ras el hanout and preserved lemons. I will be leading a small group culinary & cultural tour to Morocco departing January 3, 2018–just one year away! Eight to 12 guests will join me for a 9 night tour with an optional 3 night extension. Highlights include a tasting tour of Fes, a spice blending workshop with a master, an exploration of Moroccan-Jewish cuisine, bread-making in the Sahara and overnight in a luxury tent camp, a cooking class in the breathtaking Dades Valley, and a rejuvenating hammam (Turkish bath/spa) session in Marrakech. Cut and paste the Google Slides document below for detailed information:AlizaGreen Morocco Culinary Tour

If you love travel, spices, and exciting food experiences, please consider joining me, Aliza Green, author of 15 cookbooks including my newest, The Magic of Spice Blends, in an exclusive small group (maximum 12 guests) on this culinary and cultural tour of Northern India. Lots of market tours, cooking classes and unique meals with local experts on this journey departing January 29th and returning February 11, 2017. India Culinary & Cultural Journey with Aliza

We’ll be flying in and out of Delhi with several days each in the fabulously beautiful cities of Jaipur, Agra, and Lucknow before our return to Delhi. This 12-night journey is being organized by Kipling Travels, our local highly experienced travel professionals in India. We will also have a local escort traveling with us throughout. We have chosen all 5-star hotels with character and high ratings on Trip Advisor. Delhi: The Imperial, Jaipur: Tree of Life, Agra:Trident, Lucknow: Vivanta By Taj. Travel will be by our private air-conditioned mini van with one train ride and one internal flight from Lucknow back to Delhi.

At least some of the group will be leaving from Newark on United’s direct flight to Delhi and I will be hiring a driver and van to drive the group up from the Philadelphia area.

The price (not including international airfare but including all in-country travel) is $4,450 per person, double occupancy with an $800 supplement for a single room.

If you’re interested and would like a detailed itinerary, please send a message with your email address to chefalizagreen@gmail.com and I’ll get in touch within a day or two.

I hope that you can join me for one (or more!) of the upcoming series of Dinner Parties to be held at Material Culture for the first four Thursday evenings in March: Please click on this link to go to the Material Culture website to purchase tickets: March Thursday Night Dinner Party Events. We have just completed a very successful series in February and the March events promise to be just as much fun with delicious food, lively music, and a stimulating atmosphere! If you love great food, conversation, live music, and meeting new friends, we’d love to see you on a Thursday Night soon.

We will also be running our very popular prix-fixe brunch on Easter Sunday, March 27th, Mother’s Day, and also on Father’s Day. Homemade Bloody Mary mix is just the start!

Here’s a link to an article about my long and varied culinary career, Dinner Party series at Material Culture, and my newest book, The Magic of Spice Blends: Palate Pioneer. Lots of opinions and stories here!

Books are available for signing by the author.

I am happy to say that I will be guest chef in residence from January 7 to 9th at the gorgeous spa/retreat in the Poconos, The Inn at Woodloch. Follow this link for details: Aliza at the Inn at Woodloch. I’ll be doing a demo of a spice blend and a delicious vegan soup from my newest book, The Magic of Spice Blends, attending a reception and Q & A in my honor, and meeting with the chefs for a career discussion. Many thanks to my friend, Tina Breslow, of Breslow Partners for arranging this culinary get-away.

I attended the recent Philly C-CAP Gala honoring the major culinary contributions to the city of Philadelphia of Chef Jean-Marie LaCroix, longtime executive chef of the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia and mentor to a generation of chefs. With him is his colleague and sometimes rival, Chef Georges Perrier. I never worked with Chef LaCroix but know him as a fellow Philly culinarian from my days at A’Propos in the 80s where I worked with his lovely wife, Vivienne. And, I almost went to work for Chef Perrier but instead chose to go work at A’Propos where I cooked Mediterranean-inspired California-style cuisine with a wood-oven and mesquite grill. Although I was torn by it, I made the right decision because three months after I started, I got pregnant. A few years later, I was honored to be asked by Chef Perrier to co-author his cookbook–a wonderful opportunity for me and an experience that I will always treasure. Vive La France!